Help on Protestant Teaching...Faith Alone

[BamaRider]

I admit to not knowing much about Protestant religon’s theory and teachings. To be honest, until I joined this forum, just not something I thought about. I love my Faith, and my Church, all I needed to know, so many of the threads are over my head.

I’m confused on the Faith alone doctrine of many Protestants. Does this mean no matter what I do here on earth, I’m saved for all enternity by my faith in Jesus alone? No amount of good works, praying, and spirtual living, is gonna make one iota of any difference? Unless I totally denounce Jesus, I’ll be ok no matter my sins here on earth? Believe in Christ, believe he died for my sins, and I’m saved? Is this a correct understanding of the doctrine?

 

[justinthemartyr]

Scripture says that every man will be accountable for every idle word, and every idle deed on judgement day. This must mean something.

Working out your salvation with fear and trembling, as scripture states, does not mean our own human works get us to heaven. the only reason we go to Heaven is because of our faith in Jesus and that he died for me. What does this mean? Jesus bore all of our sin on the cross, and for those who are In Christ, that means that he paid the price for us. He has now instilled, initially through baptism, His saving grace into our souls. We continue to receive His grace through the sacraments and other things such as corporal works of mercy etc… Jesus has given us the ability and the empowerment to live as Christians, He has equipped us. Therefore we are to take up our cross and follow him and do his bidding, the works the Holy Spirit gives us to do. To whom much has been given, much is expected. You could say that David had faith, but unless he took that sling and that stone and hit Goliath in the head with it, he would have been a statistic. Noah also, in that His faith saved him, but look at the ark God empowered him to build, but it took him cooperating with God and utilizing the grace given to do the task. As an end result he and his family were saved, 8 in all through water.

Our own human work, of and by themselves do nothing for us, it is answering the call of God to love others that counts and is a big part of our process of salvation. Remember that we must remain in a state of grace(our souls), else we are cut off from the True Vine(Christ) and must repent in order to be regrafted into the Vine.

It is only by the grace of God that a Christian can be saved through their faith in Jesus Christ, but that faith also takes cooperation with the will of God as we live our faith out. It is an action. faith without works is dead.

 

[Tietjen]

I admit to not knowing much about Protestant religon’s theory and teachings. To be honest, until I joined this forum, just not something I thought about. I love my Faith, and my Church, all I needed to know, so many of the threads are over my head.

I’m confused on the Faith alone doctrine of many Protestants. Does this mean no matter what I do here on earth, I’m saved for all enternity by my faith in Jesus alone? No amount of good works, praying, and spirtual living, is gonna make one iota of any difference? Unless I totally denounce Jesus, I’ll be ok no matter my sins here on earth? Believe in Christ, believe he died for my sins, and I’m saved? Is this a correct understanding of the doctrine?

For the most part, you are correct. Many Protestants feel that nothing we as human beings (God’s Children) do, can be good in God’s sight and therefore can play no part in salvation. They ignore such verses as 1 Cor. 3:15, Mat. 7:1-3, Mat. 16:27, Mat 25:31-46, Mat 25:40 & 45, Mark 10:21, Rom 2: 6-10 & 13, 2 Cor 5:10, etc. I can go on, but you get the point.
In addition, many Protestants will say that if you “denounce” Jesus, you were never “saved” to begin with. This helps them maintain a belief of Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS), which often seems to go hand in hand with their “faith alone” belief.

 

[thespian12]

I’m not sure all Protestants have the same take on the “faith alone” doctrine. Definitely, there are some common ideas that are shared, but it seems like the specifics sometimes vary depending on the denomination or the person. Before I really got to meet a ton of Catholic friends, many of my friends were Protestants and they would share with me some of their beliefs, and they tended to vary:

Like someone said earlier, some believe “once saved always saved” and if you end up rejecting God in the end that you were never saved to begin with.

Some believe that if people authentically “accept Jesus” but then “fall away” because things in life have shaken them, even if they’re not living a Christian life, they’re still saved and will go to Heaven. They believe that “nothing can take you from His hand.”

And yet there may be some who believe that once you “accept Jesus” you can do as you please. (Although, I’m not quite sure I’ve ever met a non-Catholic who lives a Christian lifestyle that actually believes this. I think this is more of a stereotype belief Catholics have of Protestants - kind of like how Protestants stereotype Catholics by thinking that Catholics can earn their way into heaven, when we don’t believe that.)

On the other hand, some Protestants believe your faith is the only thing that saves you; you can’t earn your way into heaven by doing good deeds. BUT just because you “accept Jesus as your personal lord and savior” and are saved does not give you free license to do whatever you please. If you really did “accept Jesus” then your actions should match your words, but they also have the understanding that “yeah we’re gonna screw up cause we’re human, but we’ve gotta keep trying to live as Christ wants us”

And I’m sure there are tons of other interpretations to this “once saved always saved”/ “faith alone” teaching. . .

Catholics have similar but not the same views as the last interpretation I described. Like the last group of Protestants described, Catholics believe that nothing you do can earn your way into heaven. However, we believe faith and good works must go hand in hand. (check out some of the scripture verses that others posted) Catholics do good works because of their faith in Christ and because we love Him. Whatever we do to the least among us, we do unto Him, so what better way to show Christ that we love Him by showing Him through our actions?

 

[theologuscrucis]

The “faith alone” teaching of Luther differs from what has been presented here as Protestant. He taught that one who trusts the good news that he or she is forgiven because of the sacrificial, atoning death of the Son of God, because of his resurrection, etc., thereby receives forgiveness as a free gift, “apart from works” (Romans 4).

Such faith invariably leads to a life of good works. Any faith that does not lead to a life of good works is false and does not save.

Further, one who had true faith at one time may fall into mortal sin, as David and Peter did. Had they died in such a state rather than in a state of faith, they would have been condemned.

Those churches that maintain the Lutheran Confessions believe Luther’s teaching on this is that of Scripture.